The Wanton Stranger
by sillyjilly903
Summary: Rejection. No one likes it. Everyone experiences it. Everyone deals with it. But what about Edward Cullen? He had everything he wanted in Bella Swan. But what happens when she leaves him for Jacob Black? Back to a life of quietness and solitude,
1. Chapter 1

Introduction:

"Hey man, you should really quit staring at her," Emmett suggested, noticing the blank empty look on my face as I stared at Bella in the noisy cafeteria.

I couldn't help it. This felt like the week Bella first arrived here in Forks - I couldn't get her out of my head and I felt the need to be around her. But this time I couldn't. She didn't want me. I sighed as Alice put her small reassuring hand on my back.

"Edward, she was just one girl out of so many. You have centuries upon centuries to find someone else...you will find her, I promise..." she encouraged, though I saw that she, too, was upset that she had lost someone so close to our family.

I had lost her. My Bella. I lost her to the one guy - the term 'dog' actually seems more fitting - that I swore to myself I'd never lose her to. But she picked him. She picked him over me.

Chapter 1: It's Over

"Alright Bella, I will meet you right here as soon as class is over and I'll drive you home," I insisted, handing Bella her books. For some reason she did not seem so thrilled to be around me today. Maybe I was overreacting...

"Edward, you don't have to drive me ALL the time, you know. I do have a driver's license. And a car, for that matter," she snapped, as she hastily grabbed her books from my grasp.

"Bella, I've been driving you to and from school for the past few weeks now, why is this suddenly a problem?" I asked, confused.

"I'm just...tired of being babied, okay? I know you care about me but I'm capable of doing things on my own. You really need to stop worrying about me so much!" I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to her complaint.

"I can't help it, you know that. I don't understand...you were fine with all of this until just recently. What happened? You are always yelling at me now for no reason. You usually like it when you know I'm only trying to take care of you. I want to take care of you forever, I already told you that. I love you, Bella. I'm sorry." Wait, why was I apologizing? I didn't do anything wrong.

She frowned as she reached out to stroke my face lightly.

"I know. I'm sorry, I love you too. I don't know what's going on with me lately. Look, you can drive me home today, but I get to drive myself tomorrow. I miss my truck!" She grinned slightly.

There was that adorable smile I loved so much. Maybe she wasn't mad at me after all. I kissed her goodbye quickly as she dashed off to class just as the bell rang.

I didn't feel much like being in attendance today. It was just one of those days - gloomy, cold, drizzly...why be kept inside on such a beautiful day such as this!

I wandered aimlessly outside, trying to avoid any tardy students who would cross my path, only for me to hear them wonder why I wasn't in class again. I didn't care what anyone else thought. I had better grades than most of the students here anyway.

Keeping my walk slow and quiet, I rounded the corner to the parking lot. And that's when I saw her for the first time.

From a distance I noticed her long dark hair, perfectly wavy, and her beautifully tan skin - I could already feel her warmth from where I was standing. Despite the gloom of the day, she somehow lit up the entire parking lot. She had a slender figure and dressed better than anyone here at Forks High School, with the exception of my siblings and me, of course. Unable to make out her facial features in detail, I assumed her face looked every bit as gorgeous as her stunning body. I couldn't help but stare...

WAIT A SECOND. How? Why? Was it even possible for me to feel this way about someone other than Bella? No...

But wow, she was strikingly beautiful, that's for sure. And she was headed toward the main office. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take my arbitrary walking route in that direction as well. I was curious now.  
She must be a new student. I had never seen her before, and even if I hadn't, every male's mind in the student population would have been all over her, and of course I would have been able to hear their immature racy thoughts.

As I waited for her to reach the office door, I breathed deeply. Her scent. It was...different. She smelled absolutely delicious, yet I was not bloodthirsty. Worst of all, I could not read her mind! Was this some kind of curse? Was there a rule stating that any woman Edward Cullen was attracted to suddenly became masked in her thoughts, none of which I was able to hear? Who WAS this girl? She was throwing my living style too much out of proportion.

I leaned up against the wall of the adjacent building, waiting till she entered before I made my nonchalant appearance a few moments after. I had never felt like this about any girl before, even my Bella. Of course Bella was absolutely gorgeous and smart and funny, and I loved her. She loved me too. We were going to get married someday and be together forever. It sounds perfect, but there was one problem - she was also slightly in love with Jacob. I could feel it. I may not be able to read Bella's mind, but she did not put much effort into hiding her stronger emotions. But she loved me; she told me she could not live without me. And I trusted her more than anyone.

Peering out from behind the corner, I scanned the premises quickly to make sure this mysterious girl had reached her destination. All clear. Now all I had to do was walk into the office, flash a smile at the kind secretary, and -

"Excuse me, could you help me?"

"GAHHHHH!" I yelled.

She appeared out of nowhere, and it caught me off guard. Nothing EVER caught me off guard. Furious, I turned sharply in the other direction to muffle the snarl in my throat and began walking. As I threw a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw that she did not feel the least bit threatened, and she followed me.

"I'm sorry if I scared you...I just need some help," she laughed. Her voice was gentle and mellifluous and I stopped walking. It sounded so good to my ears. I slowly turned around to look at her.

If I thought that this girl looked nothing less than gorgeous from twenty feet away, I was surely mistaken. She was stunning. Up close, one couldn't help but stare. Her eyes were a kind of forest-y looking green, bright and dazzling. Flowing out behind her, her perfect dark brown hair had a glossy sheen to it when looked at up close. Unlike many of the girls at Forks High School, she was flawlessly tanned; she would definitely stick out in this crowd. I felt childish for staring her up and down subtly but there was something about her I could not grasp.

She cleared her throat.

"Forgive me, that was rude," I apologized, breaking her eye contact. She giggled. Her laugh was even easy on the ear. If ONLY I could hear what she was really thinking!

"It's quite flattering, actually. I'm Cecilia," she reached out her tiny hand to shake mine, when she suddenly changed her mind and moved her hand up to my hair. Sweeping away a stray piece, I felt her skin accidentally brush mine. She felt...warm. Without thinking, I reached up and found her hand in my own. She did not so much as even flinch from the cool iciness of my skin. I liked it.

Nothing could compel me to let go of her hand, but I knew I should. She must think oddly of me already as it is. Why was I acting like such a fool?

"I'm - "

"HEY EDWARD!" a deep voice erupted from somewhere at the other end of the lot.

Jacob. What a joy.

Feeling furious, I controlled yet another growl deep down; I did not mind getting a rise out of Jacob, but I did not want to scare off my new acquaintance.

"Sorry about that," I started as I looked back at her. But she was gone. I looked left and right and back to the parking lot. No sign of her.

"What do you want, Jacob?" I asked heatedly as he neared me.

"Picking up Bella, what's it to you? Shouldn't you be in class?" he snickered.

"What do you mean 'picking up Bella'? She's in class and I'm driving her home after school."

"She didn't tell you I was coming? Wow, I don't give that girl enough credit, I didn't think she'd be able to lie to you!" he chuckled.

My knuckles turned even whiter as I balled my fists at my sides. Bella...lied to me? No, he was just messing with my head. Bella wasn't capable of lying period, let alone lying to me.

"So who's the girl? Did you decide to let Bella and me off easy? Have you already found someone else? Maybe someone your type this time? Someone who likes long walks through the dark forest, a nice chat over a glass of blood..."

I could not suppress the growl in my throat this time and found myself an inch away from hurting him when I was being yelled at to stop.

"EDWARD, STOP IT!"

Bella.

She came running in our direction, fuming. But wait, why was she here? Class had started only fifteen minutes ago. So she had lied.

"Bella, you should be in class. What are you doing here?" Why did I ask, I already knew the reason why.

"Edward, I told you that you don't have to baby me. I just wanted to see Jacob, okay? I'm going to La Push and I'll be back after dinner. Don't wait up," she said crossly as she walked toward Jacob. I wanted to smack the smug grin right off his doglike face.

"Bella, why didn't you just tell me you wanted to go?"

I realized right away that this question would set her off and I quickly regretted asking it.

"Why didn't I just tell you? Are you kidding me, Edward? You would have never let me go! You have no idea how much I hate having to sneak around to hang out with my best friend. It really sucks. You wouldn't understand."

"Bella, I just always want to know that you're safe. I don't trust Jacob."

"Well I do. I don't need you telling me what's good for me and what isn't anymore. Jacob doesn't tell me what to do, but he keeps me safe without making me feel like a prisoner! Jacob understands how I feel!" she yelled fiercely. Good thing class wasn't out yet; this would have caused quite a scene and a lot of commotion in the school parking lot.

"Jacob this, Jacob that. Well if good ol' Jacob knows what's best for you then why don't you just pick Jacob, huh?!" I roared, stepping closer to Bella.

"You know what? I think I just did!" she yelled back, only a little shocked at her own response. Jacob stayed quiet, wide-eyed as he watched the fight. He probably couldn't believe it anymore than I could. Bella also stayed quiet, slowly taking a step backward.

I stared blankly at her as I noticed her eyes starting to swell with tears. She couldn't have meant that. She was just being rash...she loved me.

"Don't look at me like that, Edward. You heard me. It's over."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Fall Back

Alone again.

Somehow, this just didn▓t seem fair. It took me years and years to finally find someone that I truly cared about and really loved. Now that I just barely let her slip through my fingers, what was I supposed to do? Just continue living at seventeen years old until another one came along? It just didn▓t seem right.

⌠Edward, I heard about what happened┘and I▓m sorry, I really am. If there▓s anything I √■

⌠It▓s okay, Alice. I▓ll be fine, I promise. Don▓t worry about me,■ I reassured my sister as she sat down on the leather couch next to me. Her face showed signs of both worry and relief, though I could not quite tell which she was feeling more. Also, I could not be certain if she was feeling worse about Bella walking away from me, or better yet, Bella walking away from the Cullens.

After a minute of deliberating whether to continue consoling me or not, she smiled uncertainly and left me to myself in my room.

This was just so surreal. I had never been ▒heartbroken▓ before, and if anything, I felt emptier than I had before I met Bella. What did I do to deserve this? Things were perfectly fine until the dog began falling for her. What I would have given to hurt him today, to make him feel what I was feeling this very moment┘

No. It▓s over. I wasn▓t quite the type to dwell on the past. Alice was right, I had as much time as I need and wanted to find someone. I had forever, actually. So what was the rush?

Leaning over to my massive collection of music, I grabbed something to listen to while I thought.

Ah, Beethoven▓s ⌠Moonlight Sonata■.

Though today was far from a sunny day, the still visible light was finally beginning to set, my room giving in to the darkness as the hours went by. The events of the day were unable to fade from my mind and every word said, everything I saw, kept rushing back to me and I saw it just as clear as it had actually happened.

But even after the encounter with my worst enemy, and the love of my life walking away from me to be with him, there was one thing I neglected to remember until this very moment.

Cecilia. The mystery girl from school.

Yes, I remembered her perfectly. Her voice much too sweet, her dazzling eyes, the curves of her delicate figure, her mouth-watering scent, the warm sensation of her touch on my skin. And then of course I remembered how she just disappeared into thin air in a matter of seconds. Why did she have to go so soon? Why couldn▓t she be the one lying here with me right now?

Ugh. What was I thinking? I don▓t even know who this girl IS. Oh well, wasn▓t I allowed to feel like this? Don▓t most humans yearn for a fall back of some sort after they go through a break-up?

Raindrops gently began to patter against my window as I looked out into the murky shadows of the trees. The sound of the falling rain paired perfectly with the tinkling of the piano, which had to have been repeating for hours by now.

Out of curiosity, I glanced at the clock; it was now three in the morning. Tomorrow, well today, would be Friday. I wouldn▓t have to deal with Bella for the entire weekend. Perhaps I would see Cecilia somewhere at school tomorrow?

Oh, here I go again.

Pulling into the school parking lot the next morning, I could not help but scan the crowd of students. I knew what I was looking for, or rather, who I was looking for and I was going to make an effort to do something about it. Maybe talking to her again would stop leaving my mind so open-ended and this girl could leave my thoughts for good. Or maybe not.

Parking the silver Volvo in its usual spot, I hesitated in the car as I looked around one more time to look for her. It was hard to look for anyone in this crowd of students, class would start in about ten minutes. Then I noticed a clearing in the midst of people as a group of girls headed inside the school.

There she was. Others turned their heads to look at her, and I felt a strange, yet sudden surge of jealousy race through my veins. But then I realized they were not turning to look at her; they were turning to look at her car, a jet black Dodge Viper.

Since when did anyone else in this town drive expensive cars?

I stayed seated in my own car to wait for the multitude of onlookers to finally get inside. I watched as she stepped out of the Viper, and she was not in the least impacted by the fact that every student standing outside immediately dropped his or her jaw at the sight of her car. And as I had predicted, as soon as she was in everyone▓s full vision, every male▓s jaw dropped for her, as well. Today must be her first day.

Flashing an incredible smile to every one of those high school boys, she passed through the crowd to get to her first class, and as I sat in my car watching her, I could have sworn she stared straight at me, and winked. I waited for more people to head to class so that I could speak with her. Did she really just wink at me? Was I imagining things?

BRRRRRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!

Damn it, there was the bell. Oh well, not like I couldn▓t get halfway across the school in a split second, anyway. But was it worth going to class for? Everyone had gone by now, and the lot was empty. And then I turned around quickly as I heard someone running, breathing heavily as if in a hurry. Or late for class.

Bella.

I froze instantly. What would I say to her? Should I say something? Would she say something to me? Who cares, she didn▓t deserve my attention. She had Jacob after all.

Slowing down from her run, she kept a brisk walk trying hard not to make any sort of contact with me. Of course she knew I was standing there, I was kind of hard to miss.

I looked away, so to not create anymore tension or awkwardness between us, and she paced right by and straight into the classroom door.

Good. I don▓t need you, Bella.

⌠Hello, Edward.■ That beautiful voice.

Pulling out of my distraction, I turned around sharply and felt strangely relieved, nervous, and excited all at the same time.

⌠Cecilia,■ I spoke carefully. ⌠Wait, how did you know my name?■

⌠Mm, it wasn▓t hard to miss when your friend paid you a little visit here yesterday┘■ she giggled.

⌠He▓s not my friend,■ I growled.

⌠I figured that much. I▓m sorry. And since word travels pretty fast around here, I also heard about your break-up, and I▓m sorry to hear about that, too.■ Though her words sounded sincere, I couldn▓t help myself but hear just a slightly happier undertone in her sweet voice.

⌠Please, don▓t apologize,■ I told her. I could not help but notice how similar she and Rosalie dressed. Cecilia looked nothing less than stunning today in her dark fitted jeans and beige jacket. It really made her features pop and I could not help but find myself staring again like a mindless idiot. She seemed to like it.

Staring straight up into my eyes, she closed the gap between us by a few inches. She was the perfect height. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her tiny waist and hold her there. But that would be rude. And weird.

⌠No really, Edward. I feel just awful. Here I was yesterday just trying to introduce myself to you, and two seconds later you get dumped.■ She inched closer again. Her bloodless scent was intoxicating. I wanted her. ⌠So, I just wanted to introduce myself properly this time,■ she said seductively, as she reached up to touch my hair once again.

I couldn▓t help it this time; I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her close to me. What was I thinking?

⌠It▓s okay, yesterday was not your fault. Really, it wasn▓t a big deal. It was nothing serious, she meant nothing to me,■ I lied, keeping my hands firm now on the small of her back. She began to tangle her fingers in my hair and it was beginning to drive me wild. Whatever power this girl had over me, I could not bring myself to put a stop to it.

Pulling me down to her pale pink lips, I was ready. But then she stopped and grinned slightly.

⌠She meant nothing to you, huh. So asking someone human like Bella to marry you isn▓t ▒anything serious▓?■

I dropped my hands. Someone human?

⌠How┘how did you know about that?■

She continued to grin as she too, dropped her hands and tossed her long shiny hair over her shoulder as she turned to walk inside.

⌠Oh, I know more about you than you think, Edward Cullen.■ 


End file.
